NASA forces 22 Cans Curiosity name change

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Peter Molyneux's experiment hits a snag due to name of Mars landing craft

NASA has reportedly forced 22 Cans to change the name of its experimental title Curiosity.

The American space agency's Mars landing craft Curiosity recently made headlines by touching down on the red planet, and has apparently requested the name change to avoid confusion with the British developer's game.

22 Cans was founded this year by industry legend Peter Molyneux, who recently left his position as head of Microsoft studio Lionhead.

The studio immediately began work on 22 experimental projects, the first of which was dubbed Curiosity.

Players will chip away at a gigantic cube, which contains a secret object. Purchasing a better chisel will enable them to work faster, and give a better chance of being the one to break open the cube and win the mysterious prize.

"Humm there is a problem the the name curiosity, we can't use it because of NASA," said Molyneux. "I wonder what one word would sum up curiosity:the cube."

Though generally names of things so different as a game and a spacecraft are not considered to be protected under law, but NASA has been struggling under the pressure of government cuts, and may be more protective than usual of what is its greatest success in years.